


In A Heartbeat

by orphan_account



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Alternate Universe - His Dark Materials Fusion, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Bela and Kali are also daemons, Castiel has Anxiety, Dean Winchester Has Issues, F/F, M/M, Meg and Anna are daemons, POV Alternating, POV Third Person Limited, Possible smut later, daemon AU, if i can bring myself to write it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-05-09
Packaged: 2019-05-04 13:08:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14593692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Dean’s Daemon, Anna, settled on a form nearly eight years ago. She’d always preferred canine forms, and the grey wolf was the one she’d finally decided on. Castiel’s Daemon, Meg, still hadn’t settled, despite him being well past the usual age. They both liked it that way, even though it made Cas and Meg outcasts in the world.  In spite of his Daemon having settled, Dean always felt restless energy under his skin, like there was something not quite right about his life. He’d always felt a pull.When Dean and Castiel meet, their worlds collide. Will Castiel’s rebellion against society get in the way? Will Dean be able to handle all that Castiel has to offer? Or will their love go down in flames, just because of their stubbornness?





	In A Heartbeat

**Author's Note:**

> me @ me stop starting new works

Castiel Novak had always been a little bit weird. He’d never had many friends growing up, but that was fine, because he always had Meg. 

Then he’d hit fifteen, and Meg still hadn’t settled. She switched forms at least once a day. For a while, she’d shown a preference for avian forms, and his parents had sighed in relief and told themselves he was just a late settler, that was fine. 

Then, he’d turned nineteen, and Meg  _ still _ hadn’t settled down. His parents tried to be supportive, but his younger brother’s daemon had settled before his, and they were losing patience with him.

At twenty-two, when Meg was still switching forms, Castiel moved out. He got a nice one bedroom apartment far from his home in Pasadena, close to his older brother Gabriel, and settled into it.

Not that he’d ever admit it, but Castiel became something of a hermit. The only times he went out was to go to the store and when Gabriel dragged him out of the house. After all, he had no need for money - their father, Chuck, was a famous author, and he deposited money into Castiel’s bank account every few weeks - so he had no need to get a job. 

He had Meg, and Gabriel when he decided to come, so really, he didn’t need any friends. 

That’s what he told himself, at least, when he curled up around Meg’s feline form and fell asleep with tears staining her fur. 

It was sometime in late June when he first met his soulmate. It was late, maybe eight pm, and he’d run out of cheerios, so he’d decided to go down to the store to get some so he didn’t have to go tomorrow. 

He hadn’t been paying much attention, too focused on whatever conversation he’d been having with Meg, who was a raven at that particular moment, perched on his shoulder. That lack of attention had sent him smashing right into the chest of another man. His forehead had made contact with the man’s cheek, and it was as though the world had clicked into place.

He stumbled back, blue eyes wide. “Oh, I’m- I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention-”   
  
“My fault, totally my fault, I’m really sorry-”   
  
They spoke at the same time, and both stopped at the same time, too. Meg had startled and turned into a squirrel and wriggled under his hoodie. 

“Um. Sorry, I’ll just-” Castiel tried to move out of the way, but they stepped in the same direction. He heard Meg giggling in his shirt, and he quickly moved past the man with the beautiful green eyes and the perfect mouth and- He promptly cut off that line of thought and tossed a box of cheerios into the basket.

\----

“I met him, Sammy! I’m sure it was him!”

Dean had his hand tangled in the ruff of fur at the back of Anna’s neck, talking excitedly into the phone. “He had, like, the bluest eyes you’ve ever seen, and his hair was so messy…” 

His brother, Sam, had met his soulmate, Gabriel, some years ago now, and they were very happy together. Sam’s daemon, Bela, had settled on a panther, appropriately, and Gabriel’s, Kali, was a golden eagle. 

“Okay, okay, keep it in your pants. Did you get his number, at least?” 

“No, I completely forgot. Dammit! There’s no way I’m ever going to met him again!”

He heard Sam chuckle on the other end of the phone, and under his hand, Anna was laughing at him too. “I’m sure I’ll find him again. I have to.”

\--

Two days later, Dean had to admit he was no closer to finding his mystery soulmate than he’d been before. Their bond was tentative, so they couldn't talk through it. There were only the occasional bursts of feelings, mostly fear, from the other end. 

Dean tried to stay calm, but Blue Eyes (as Anna had taken to calling him) was nowhere to be found. 

Surprisingly, though, his saving grace came in the form of Gabriel Novak.    
  
“Blue eyes, about yay high, brown hair? Yeah, I know him.” Gabriel said lightly, Kali perched on his shoulder as per usual. 

“Great. Can we arrange a meeting or something? He’s sort of my soulmate.”    
  
Gabriel’s eyes narrowed, and Kali shuffled her wings, automatically responding to the agitation her partner was no doubt feeling. “A meeting? Cas doesn’t really do ‘meetings’.”

“Cas? Is that his name?” Dean asked, eager for any details about Blue Eyes. “Short for something?”

“Castiel.” Said Gabriel, still with his eyes narrowed. “His name is Castiel Novak.”   
  
“Novak, as in, you?” 

“He’s my baby brother.” 

Gabriel looked awfully smug, and Dean wanted to punch that smirk right off of his stupid face. Near his hip, Anna growled. “Fine, fine, I’ll arrange something. But you owe me!” 

“Consider this payment for ruining  _ my  _ little brother.” Dean snarked, and Gabriel rolled his eyes. 

\----

“I don’t think this is a good idea, Gabriel.” Castiel said for the fourteenth time that day, crammed into the passenger seat of his brother’s car. Meg was in her cat form, draped over his lap, her tail thrashing. “Really, just take me home.”

“It’ll be fine, Cas. Just trust me!” Gabriel chirped jovally, making Castiel wilt against the seat. There was no arguing with Gabriel when he was in a mood like this. He grumbled incoherently as they pulled up, and when they climbed out, Meg switched quickly into a grizzly bear, just to make Castiel feel better. 

He smiled and murmured his thanks to her, rubbing her fuzzy chin. Meg was his rock, she grounded him, especially in times like this, when he could feel his anxiety tightening his chest and making his hands shake. 

“Come on, Cas.” Gabriel grabbed his hand and pulled him along, making Meg growl. Kali had already flown ahead, cawing eagerly. The door swung open, revealing Sam, Gabriel’s soulmate, and Bela, his panther. Castiel had only met Sam a few times, but each time he’d been nice.

Sam leaned down to kiss Gabriel on the cheek, and then pet Kali where she’d landed on his shoulder while Gabriel greeted Bela. 

“Hey, Cas. Good to see you again. You too, Meg.” Sam said, offering a smile. Castiel curled in on himself and mumbled a greeting, something like ‘Hello’, or at least, he hoped that’s what came out. Meg, meanwhile, still in bear form, gave Sam a nod, which brushed her chin over Castiel’s hair. It helped. 

When Sam and Gabriel turned around, Meg flitted into a squirrel and crawled into his hood, knowing that he liked being able to hold her in case they needed to run. 

This was going to be a long day.

He slowly, ever so slowly, followed Sam and Gabriel into their house, giving Bela a small smile. Meg pressed a tiny paw to his neck, which was nice, and he took a deep breath and squeezed his hands into fists. He could do this.

“Dean, this is Castiel. Cas, Dean.”

Once more, Castiel found himself drowning in those beautiful green eyes and that perfect jawline and-

“Um. Hello, Dean.” He managed to get out, with the support of Meg’s weight on his shoulder. 

“Hey, uh, Castiel. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Dean was suddenly striding forward and sticking his hand out. Castiel stared at it for a long second, and then Meg hissed, “ _ Shake it, dumbass. _ ” in his ear and he jumped into action, gripping Dean’s hand and giving it a small shake.

There. It was going fine. No reason to panic. The touch sent spirials of electricity up his wrist and into his arm, and it felt… Good. Surprisingly good.

“It’s… Nice to meet you too.” Castiel said, finally. He couldn’t take his eyes off of Dean’s face. He was handsome, even objectively speaking, and Castiel was smitten already. Even if they hadn’t been soulmates, Castiel would have probably been in love. 

Gabriel cleared his throat awkwardly, making Castiel realize he was still holding Dean’s hand. “Oh, right- Sorry.” He snatched his hand back like it burnt, tucking it into his pocket. 

\----

Dean  _ liked _ Castiel. He was downright adorable, with his fluffy hair and bright blue eyes. Dean just wanted to wrap him up and keep him forever. 

… Maybe that was sort of creepy, but the sentiment still stood. They’d exchanged numbers, and Castiel had been so shy about it, hesitantly handing over his phone for Dean to put his name and phone number into. Dean had tried to be reassuring, and had quickly texted himself from Castiel’s phone so he had the number saved. 

_ >> Message Sent 7:18pm _

_ Hey, Cas, it’s Dean. _

_ >> Message Sent 7:19pm _

_ Just checking that you got home okay. _

When there was no reply, Dean bit his lip nervously and considered texting a third time, before deciding that might be a little much. He waited for another few minutes, and then gave it up and tossed his phone on the couch.

Might as well get a beer. 

\--

 

_ >> Message Received 11:23pm _

_ I need help. _

 

**Author's Note:**

> comment + kudos if u liked it! <3


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